


Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?

by betfleck



Series: Is it too much to ask for? [1]
Category: Naruto, Naruto The Abridged Comedy Fandub Spoof Series Show
Genre: ? - Freeform, Comfort/Angst, F/M, Gen, One Shot, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 13:56:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8581159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betfleck/pseuds/betfleck
Summary: He's talking to ghosts and it's not really her place to ask.





	

1.  
The first time Sakura catches his fall, she's thirteen, it's a Thursday and he's late for the training session he promised Team 7 (or what remains of it) that he'd find time for. Eventually, after multiple weeks of (probably on purpose) missed opportunities...he finally does, although timing is a concept Kakashi-sensei has a poor grip on. "He'll probably be just a few more minutes." She tries a warm smile that falls as quick and hard as her fists clench, and comes out a thin tight line that's edging more on a threatening growl than a compassionate sigh. It serves more as a reassurance to herself than it does to Naruto. To say she's used to his tardiness would be an understatement, but Sakura couldn't help but feel a tinge of gratitude at his offer. She rarely gets to spend any time with him, so when he finally acknowledges her neglected training, she feels the satisfaction of being chased after after months worth of shrugging her off to chase after his star pupils. Sakura's patience slowly dwindles under the sharp 12AM heated light of day that tugs at her skin ever-so roughly and leaves a small trail of trickling sweat down the side of her face. Naruto notices.

 

(This is the spot were Team 7 first met, sat and introduced eachother.)

 

"This is ridiculous! We've been waiting for ages! Argh!" He's been pacing back and forth for the past ten minutes and looks about ready to pull all his blonde locks out. She doesn't blame him but it doesn't make his relentless grunts any more tolerable. If she hasn't smacked him upside down yet it's only because he seems to be handling the heat worse. He's long ditched the bright orange jacket he always seems to wear and tied it neatly to his waist, now only a light black shirt keeps his chest covered. Loose blonde strands that look almost wet stick to his headband, she'd ashur him to ditch it too but she's sure her advice would go ignored...the cloth's material is thick on it's own and she tries not to think too hard about how the metal headplate is probably absorbing and trapping too much heat against his forehead. She curses the stubborn fool and proceeds to smack him on the back of his head, careful not to touch the headband's hot metal headplate, but hard enough that the headband somehow, miraculously comes undone and falls to the ground, she picks it up before he notices and hides it in her bag. Naruto winces and pulls a perplexed look, a single tear brushing his cheek.

 

"Oh c'mon Sakura! Why'd you have to go and do that?!" He whines, rubbing his eyes. She rolls her eyes and feels much more relaxed seeing his hair fall tousled over his red-turned forehead. "Hey were did my headband go?" He's already on his knees searching every inch of the sizzling road. She grabs him by the collar of his shirt and pulls him up hastily.

 

"You idiot! The ground is super hot and you're crawling around on all fours?! Look at your hands, they're all red now! Are you trying to get blisters?!" Sakura raises her fist ready to knock him on the head again but stops mid-air and sighs frantically before gently grabbing his wrists and examining the red skin. She notices the light scar between his index and middle finger on his left hand and wonders what she's missed. She presses a finger on the palm of each hand, they're soft but the edges are rough and calloused, it's expected, these are shinobi hands, she convinces herself and swallows the uncomfortable lump that tugs at her throat at the sight of them on Naruto. He shrieks when she presses a little harder, then quickly disguises with a shrug and pulls his hands away, cheeks turning a light rose. She's not sure if it's from their contact or from the pain.

 

(The steps are too hot to sit on.)

 

"It's nothing! Really, Sakura. I've been through worst." He assures her with a bright smile. She remembers that he's just gotten back from his Hokage-hunting mission with Master Jiraiya in which he'd ran into Orochimaru and Kabuto and a long battle had occured...something tightens in her chest. The fact isn't as reassuring as he thinks it is. _He's been through worst..._ She grabs his wrist instinctively, pulls him along and starts walking away from where they were supposed to meet Kakashi-sensei. "Sakura --"

 

"I have your headband, now let's go! I'll get you some ice and ointment for your hands." She doesn't look back in fear of the realisation that he's bailed on her -- them -- again. She clenches her jaw. The only Team 7 he's ever cared about was the one with Sasuke. She hopes Naruto doesn't feel half as neglected as she does right now, right ever... At least he's got Master Jiraiya. She corrects her train of thought but it always ends up the same. Who have I got?

 

(She couldn't say anything back then.)

 

"What about Kakashi-sensei? You said yourself he'd be here soon!" Naruto slows down but she's happy to pick up the pace for him and tugs at his arm, pulling him forward, the weak wind that brushes against her skin now that she's moving is enough to keep her in motion and she doesn't stop walking.

 

"We've waited for three hours. He's not coming!" Saying it -- giving in to her exhaustion, giving up on his excuses is a disappointing breath of fresh air but she breathes anyway and she doens't look back.

 

(If he won't assume them, why should she?)

 

She looks over at Naruto and his lips are parted for a moment but he bites them shut with furrowed blonde eyebrows and doesn't say anything. It's not a victory that feels great but she claims it anyway. She sighs already regretting the next words that spew out of her mouth. "We can get some ramen after..." She mutters, averting her gaze from his and hopes he doesn't hear, but who is she kidding? She can practically hear the huge grin sitting on his face and squeezes his wrist hard to keep herself from smiling, turns around and barks "Just don't start getting any ideas okay?! I've been hearing that stupid stomach of yours grumbling for hours and it's just so annoying!" His smile falls into a cringing expression and then into a frown and he slows his pace and finally stops walking.

 

"I uh...Kinda blew all of my money with Pervy Sage." He scratches the back of his neck with his free hand and shoots her an apologetic half-smile. "Maybe next time..." Sakura rolls her eyes, sucks in her cheeks in a deep breath and exhales a gust that lifts and sways pink loose strands of her bangs.

 

"My treat." The kind gesture might as well be thrown off by her brash tone. Naruto narrows his eyes at her in scrutiny and if she doesn't punch the living daylights out of him right now it's only because he's wearing the biggest smile coupled by the deepest blush she's ever seen.

 

"Sakura...You'd really do that just for little old me? Wow! Kakashi-sensei, thank you!" He gushes and starts skipping the rest of the way. Sakura is too preoccupied with making herself impassive to the mention of her unreliable sensei to be bothered by Naruto's rambling. She decides to leave him as an afterthought and it's not quite after yet.

 

 

After, though, eventually and inevitably comes and she's not exactly sure what she's doing outside his apartment with a balled up fist that stops and threatens to knock on the door before her. Seriously. What is she doing?! Sakura reluctantly yet hastily pulls her hand back and clutches at her chest with both hands, zipping and unzipping the v-neck of her dress. She struggles not to scream and only manages to contain it because it would defeat the whole purpose of contemplation as he'd hear, be out within a fraction of a second and then she'd have no choice. She curses herself for giving in to her frustration and walking all the way to his apartment to probably only end up giving him the satisfaction of having her care enough to be this affected. Pacing back and forth outside his hallway like a shark circling his door. One knock. _Give that bastard-of-a-sensei a piece of your mind! Cha! Who does he think he is making us wait three whole hours under the dreadful sun of Konoha only to be a complete no show?! Argh!_ Inner Sakura chimes in, hyping Sakura's wrath and wholely taking over her mind and clouding her judgement so much so that she doesn't notice when it's too late to back out when she's already barged through the door and standing dead-frozen in the middle of his living room. She takes note to work on her stealth sometime soon.

 

Sakura remembers to breathe before she's thrown into a fit of hyperventilation and saves the speech she'll give herself on impulsive-recklessness and underestimation of her ability to be stupid for later. _Naruto's impact?_ Inner-Sakura shrugs before shying away into the depths of her mind. She's already inside anyway...Inside Kakashi-sensei's apartment!..Her curiosity along with inner sneaky Sakura are already surfacing and suddenly every corner of the small, dull apartment seems very promising...No! Sakura shakes that train of thought away because she's a dignified kunoichi who respects her stupid sensei and would never dare to even think of going through his things!..But her eyes don't stop wandering. Maybe she could finally figure out her sensei, surely there could be something in the apartment that would serve a clue as to why he's so...distant. Sakura contemplates her next steps carefully but ultimately decides to look around, figuring if no one's come out after the commotion she's just caused almost practically breaking down his door, that no one must be home. So where the hell is he?

 

The first thought that pops into her mind is food and immediately her eyes are raking the contents of his small white fridge, just a little taller than she is. The inside is spacier than she'd imagined and she's sure it has to do with the fact that there's little to nothing inside of it. Aside from a few beers, four apples and a jar of water, the fridge is practically empty and she finds herself a little worried about her sensei's health. Is all he consumes alcohol and fruit? She shrugs her concern away. Kakashi-sensei is -- and she'd deny having such thoughts any other day -- fit...a well-built man. He probably eats way more out and is always on missions away from home, there's no reason why his fridge should be fully stocked, she figures.

 

See, she's already learned a lot about him just from his fridge and she counts this as a good reason to keep invading his privacy. She stops on her tracks to his bedroom. The fridge is one thing but his bedroom...It doesn't get any more personal than that and she's not sure she'd want to get personal with someone like Kakashi-sensei...He's so emotionally unavailable she's not even sure what being personal with him would mean...Besides, she might find something -- and she's super sure of this -- a young girl like her shouldn't bare eyes upon. If he goes around strutting that damned Icha Icha book of his for the public eye to see him actively reading porn...then what he doesn't show would be...Sakura stops that thought right there when she hears what sounds like a cough coming from the direction of his room.

 

 _Crap! Crap! Crap! I'm so screwed._ And damned if she isn't. Her mind is already racing through all the believable excuses she could bring about when he surely busts her for home intrusion and snooping through his things. She freezes momentarily figuring if he didn't hear her through the mess she's already made, he's not about to hear her tip-toeing the hell out of this hole she's dug herself into. And when she's almost out the door and focused on carefully shutting it she hears a stronger cough that turns into a series of relentless coughs that sound the type of nasty noises she hears whenever she walks through Konoha's hospital...And she walks those halls more often than is probably healthy for a young girl like herself, but often enough that it's not surprising given her chosen profession...And she's gotten used to being there, visiting Lee, visiting Sasuke, visiting Naruto and the others. Sakura's gotten to know every inch of that damned hospital all too well and it's not a pleasant thought that she's never the one hospitalised either.

 

If it is Kakashi-sensei, he must be having a hard time breathing. He's probably sick and skipped out on the hospital, like he always does after a heavy mission that's got his body banged up so hard the only reason he doesn't completely escape his duties to the hospital bed is because he doesn't have it in him to fake it all the way back home without collapsing right after walking out of the Hokage's office after a report. Sakura knows what a stubborn man her sensei can be. She follows her instinctively-caring gut and takes heavy anxious steps towards his room.

 

"Kakashi-sensei?" It's almost a whisper. She's not so much as asking if he's okay as she is warning him that she's coming in no matter what. And she does and he's a sight she wishes she'd never seen. Her legs move to his bedside before she can even process what she's doing.

 

He's a mess of a limp body sprawled about his unruly white sheets that are tainted by spots of red here and there, she follows the trace of red up his long body and stops at his lips where blood trickles down the edges of his lips and chin. She holds down a gasp and she's not sure if it's from the sight of blood or his bare face. She can't stop staring. Light pink lips that stain the canvas of his pale white face softly and a small black mole just below his lip. His jaw is strong and sharp and the scar on his left eye runs down his face, grazing it beautifully until it stops next to his lower lip. This time she can't help it, takes in a sharp breath and drinks the whole of his face onto her mind. Immediately, she thinks he's far more handsome than Sasuke and then slaps her inner-self silly for even having such a thought... For even thinking of him. He's all that's been on her mind lately and thinking of him is so exhausting but it's all she knows and at this point it comes as second nature. Sometimes she's peeling apples and she swears she can hear the slices being crushed under his foot and then she's crying... Other times Naruto's laughing so hard and loud that she's half-expecting to hear Sasuke tell him to _shut up, loser_ and she has to calm herself down and convince herself that he isn't laughing at her, for thinking of him, she has to clench her fists so hard not to punch him for laughing at her...For laughing...Sometimes they all meet up for dumplings and reminisce over their missions and someone mentions Sasuke and they all stop and look at her like they're waiting for her to explode and the rest of the time they're tip-toeing around their words...It's a funny thought, sometimes she'll make it through the day without so much as a moment of his existence on her mind and then she'll walk home at night and damn if a full moon isn't on sight on those days and then she's back to that night wishing she'd screamed loud instead of confessing that sometimes she does, but it's always too late and only her pillow acknowledges her loud cries...

 

Kakashi coughs again and his hands cling to cover his mouth and she notices his hands are already thick with red too. She's shaking in her clothes, panicking silently to herself and she takes in just how bleak his eyes are and how they have yet to notice her presence. Only when the coughing stops and his face is running red does the world come back into motion and she's already in his kitchen trying to find a kettle, it takes her a few drawers and cabinets opened and raked before she finds the closest thing to it. It's old and rusty and it looks beyond dirty but it has to do. The water in the kitchen's sink comes out in sparse drips and then stops all at once, Sakura curses her sensei's make-do apartment and runs for his bathroom praying to all the Gods she never cared for that his shower runs hot water. It does. So hot she flinches when her fingers graze the surface of steaming water to test it. She runs back to the kitchen to find he has mostly plastic crockery and just when she thinks of running next door to ask for a bowl or a bucket her luck screws itself into place and there's a large porcelain bowl hidden under his sink collecting dust. It's the one her mother insisted she gave him as a gift after she'd received her own portrait of Team 7 from him. She's too focused on hoping he doesn't die to be mad that he's left the bowl as home for dust-bunnies. She quickly washes it back in the bathroom and fills it with hot water, grabs a towel that's surprisingly easy to find from a basket that sits beside his bathtub and runs back into his room.

 

"Kakashi-sensei...?" Her voice is merely a shaky breath in the tense air surrounding them, her eyebrows furrow when he doesn't respond. The coughing's stopped alright but part of her wishes it hadn't as it's much better than seeing him lie there so lifeless, pale and vulnerable...All the things she'd least expect to ever see in him...All the things that don't go along with Kakashi-sensei. She doesn't know exactly what's happening to him, but if this is what death looks like, she'll force him to cling to life if it's the last and only meaningful goddamn thing she does in her short kunoichi life. She blinks the tears away, rolls up the towel, dips it into the bowl of hot water and wipes the blood from his jaw, hiding her fingers behind the cloth, sure that if her fingers stumble against his skin that looks far too fragile for her taste, he'll break against her touch. He looks breakable...

 

And when she's wiped off every stain of red on his white, she takes the bowl with her to the bathroom, wrings red water off the towel down his bathtub and fills the bowl with cool water and returns to his side, adjusts herself on his bed until she's confident enough he won't crack apart if she moves any closer and and dips the towel back into the bowl of cool water, pressing it carefully against his for forehead. His eyebrows furrow and his eyes shoot open and she sees red all over again. She's never realised how beautiful of a thing the sharingan was until right now.

 

(All she's ever seen is red and black accompanied by more red...that wasn't his.)

 

His hand grabs hold of her wrist and she flinches under his rough touch. She gasps and his hold softens against her skin. "Rin..." It's barely a breath, it's so low she's not sure the word even leaves his lips. The name lingers in the air like a prayer and his hand moves to caress her cheek. She flinches and holds in a gasp. His hands are rough and calloused but his palm holds a softness and comfort that comes unfamiliar to her. And her cheeks are stained red by his hands and Sakura's too mesmerised by how something like the sharingan can be so bright and dark at the same time. So much life carrying so much death.

 

She tears her face away from his touch and drifts her attention towards caring to the fever she guesses when his forehead is hot against her hand. "How did you end up this way sensei?" The tears come as urgent and ragged as her voice. He blinks at her and the edges of his lips twitch up slightly and she thinks she forgot to notice how soft they look. A little chapped and rough at the edges, but that too is Kakashi-sensei.

 

"It's ironic you ask..." It's a little less of a chuckle in his usual nonchalant light tone and she curses him for being so lax when she can't tell if he's on his deathbed or if this is just an episode of his... And then his face tenses all together and it drags the air with it, Sakura takes in a sharp breath and his eyes don't leave hers. She's sure his sharingan is scrutinising every inch of her soul under his cold gaze. She wonders if he can see how scared she is, that he's scaring her. He's looking at her like he can see her... He's looking at her...Looking at everything she is...Everything she isn't. It's supposed to be a pleasant thought that for once her existence, her part in his life isn't something he only sees in the peripherals of his vision when his gaze is intent on Naruto or Sasuke...all she's ever been is a second glance. _Sakura you stay here and watch after him. / Sakura stay back! / We'll advance, stay close to Naruto!_ It's supposed to be a pleasant thought...

 

"I'm sorry...I'm so so sorry..." And then he's crying silently to himself, tears falling down the sides of his face. Sakura doesn't think it's her place to ask what for or whom he's even talking to, instead her eyes dart to her lap while her fingers reach to her shoulders to clutch at pink strands that aren't there anymore. She remembers she's cut her hair, it's still something she's getting used to and she doesn't like to think about it too much because she knows she'll find herself either laughing or crying or (and most often) both. Only she could make cutting hair look hard...(Only he could make loving so painful.)

 

(It was never just hair. He was never just a boy.)

 

There's no comfort in stroking her long pink strands anymore and her hands feel heavy and sweaty and she doesn't know what to do with them -- herself -- anymore. Kakashi-sensei is still crying and she doesn't know what to do with him and her eyes have already raided his wooden floor twice now and the ceiling isn't any more interesting. Sakura remembers to breathe but can't bring herself to tell her sensei to do so too. Her mouth's run dry out of comforting words and she's not sure there are any words that could comfort him. This is uncharted territory, he's uncharted territory and it's only now that the realisation that she doesn't know him at all bites her conscious. This is the first time she's ever even seen his face...and he's crying...

 

Sakura trips on her thoughts before she rushes to his bathroom and splashes cold water on her face. It's refreshing but what she wants is relief. She can still hear him whispering incomprehensible things about some Rin character she doesn't think she'll ever get to know about...Something clicks and cracks and she thinks he's finally come undone and her body almost moves to rush to his side but she feels a sharp lump at the sole of her right sandal, she lifts it carefully and sees she's stepped on and shattered some kind of syringe. She picks up what's left of it carefully and inspects it, there's no label or anything, just a black drop of liquid clinging to the edge of the needle. How did you end up this way sensei?

 

Sometime along his mission, she figures, someone must have poisoned him (and ignores the fact the syringe is in his bathroom) and the realisation comes to her the way lightning strikes, quick and ruthless; whatever it is will kill him in spades. It's a hunch but she's doesn't have to count how often shinobi have to rely on them. Her stomach sinks at the thought of an anything but annoyingly-cheerful-yet-simultaneously-stoic Kakashi-sensei lying motionless on his bed with unruly volumiuous grey locks that have long lost their usual spike and now lie flat and worn against his pillow. Her feet start moving. She's not sure what she can do or where she can go and damn if there isn't a new miracle-worker Hokage. Sakura needs a miracle right about now.

 

"Kakashi-sensei..." She whispers, slanting down closer to him, strokes his forehead and tucks away sweaty strands of white that stuck to his forehead behind his ears, he flinches at the contact at first but relaxes when his eyes open slightly and drift to hers. She averts her gaze and does her best to screw her courage fixed and tears herself away from him. "I'm getting you help, just please..." A stern note creeps into her tone. "Don't die." She's never asked anything out of him, and if he's able to do just this for her, it might make up for all the times she shouldn't have had to ask anyways, all the times he should've known.

 

Her feet move towards the door but she stops on her tracks when he grabs hold of her hand. "Stay..." There's a hint of something she doesn't recognise in his tone, she almost looks back to all the times he's made her stay behind while they took action, but that's not quite the tone, not quite the implication. It's desperate and hides something like longing, both things she's never known him to be. The urgency of his tone almost has her doing a double take and rushing to his side, she's sure the authority he managed to muster up into that single word is taking its toll on her, even beaten and half-dead he's still brash and collected...she thinks even at her best she couldn't be half...But what good is authority when you're dead? She shakes his grip off her and it takes more strength than she'd like to admit...She stomps her foot hard on his wooden floor and forces her meekness down and replaces it with something like assertiveness, "Kakashi-sensei! Just hang on a little longer, I'll be back with Lady Tsunade!" She forces an austere tone to surface and hopes there's no crack in her voice. If there is, he doesn't notice when his eyes linger on hers for a moment before he makes a sound she can't quite place, something like a sigh or a grunt. He shifts uncomfortably about the sheets, turns to his side and reaches for his bedside drawer and pulls out something that looks like a syringe. Sakura freezes on her tracks and her mind races to understand whatever the heck is going on...

 

"I'll be...fine.." He says. It's almost a confession... However it falls meaningless to her ears when he bursts into a fit of coughing right after. Sakura's at his side in a split second, clutching at his hands, again, still clueless as to what to do. She should've been out long ago, running through the streets, jumping through rooftops. The Hokage could've been here by now, he wouldn't be like this...

 

(If she'd screamed under the moonlight that night instead of having cried, it wouldn't have been this way...)

 

"Antidote..." He sounds bleak when he says it and she really shouldn't be listening to him at this state because she's been ignoring it for a while but this, this whole scenario screams self-inflicted...Kakashi-sensei is the last person she'd expect to be this rash and reckless but he's detached enough that a part of her always half-expected his own undoing one day. And she's seen this so many times before that she bears no right to act surprised or innocent, it's not uncommon for shinobi to act out this way, she doesn't have to count the number of times her parents lectured her on all the grim things she'd see on this chosen career path to get her to drop it. Shinobi often die young, either on the field in battle with enemies, or in battle with themselves. She knows this. But still, Kakashi-sensei is so composed and calculating that this is still a little unbelievable. But for this exact reason, she finds fault in hoping that this was an accident, he was on a mission and caught off-guard. But Sakura is impulsive and so desperate that she takes the syringe anyways and stretches out his pale arm to look for a vein. The green lines are ever-present and stand dark against his skin, it's an easy catch. The liquid in the syringe is clear like water and looks too harmless to have any effect. It's almost ironic, she wants something dramatic, maybe a shocking pink or something dark like black or blue to stab and clear his system rid of all the things that are making him breakable. "A little...longer, please..." He grabs her hand mid-air and the needle hovers above his skin, he pulls her down to his chest in a slick move that leaves her breathless and his free arm moves to wrap over her body. She doesn't blink for a while and instead stares at the glowing liquid in the syringe and tries to ignore how loud his heartbeat sounds, it's dangerously fast and unsteady. He's hot, too hot for comfort, she can almost feel his body temperature rise with every passing second and she tries not to think too hard on his worsening fever.

 

"Kakashi-sensei...?" She doesn't feel like crying but her eyes kind of sting like they're watering and her vision isn't quite blurry but clear seems far from it. He smells like the forest, blood and smoke. She feels his shaky fingers move to brush her hair. His chest rises and falls inconsistently and she feels uncomfortable putting the pressure of her body on his chest, but his arm won't let her go. His breaths are deep but ragged and so loud that she almost forgets to breathe herself and then his chest shakes a bit and she hears him start to cry again. She doesn't look up to see his tears, maybe she feels the need to collect his dignity for him for now so later it's not so awkward, maybe she's seen enough of him weak that she just can't stand it.

 

"I'm so so sorry, Rin..." He cries whispering and it's almost a comfort for Sakura. He's talking to ghosts, she's already figured, it's not so much poison as it is a drug. His pupils are dilated, his heart rate is through the roof, his speech falls a little slurred despite his attempts to hide it and he's groggy, barely hanging on to his reflexes. She doesn't think she'll ever be able to tell what the drug is exactly but for now she'll let him cling to whatever hallucinations it's inducing...it's not her place to ask, instead, she listens to the rhythmic dance of his heart and waits until he's left nothing unsaid and is ready to part ways with his ghosts and let them crawl back to the depths of his mind.

 

Only when she notices his heartbeat slow steadily and his words lose complete volume does she tear his arm away from her body and stabs the needle into his arm. He's still unresponsive for a while but she can't bring herself to stop slapping his face and screaming at his limp body to wake the hell up. She tries to keep from crying because she brought this on herself...Damn antidote was probably just water, why did she trust him again?! Why did she trust herself again?! She collects herself and is almost out the door when she hears coughing again. She thanks the Gods and rushes to his side again. (She's starting to hate how quick she is to rush to him.)

 

"Yo." He says in his usual nonchalant tone, the faintest smile tugging at his lips. His lips...He's still shirtless and only now that he's regained some colour to his skin does she find it appropriate to do a double take and appreciate just how toned his abs are and just how small his navel is, and only now does she notice that the only thing he's wearing are boxers, yet his pale hips are still left for show and they're so sharp-angled and white...and Sakura's never really seen anyone else's bare hips or real-life abs on a boy -- man -- before, so she sucks in a breath, blushes and turns away and doesn't really know whether she's about to start crying again or grin like the biggest pervert ever. She's sure she'll die of embarrassment, though. "Sakura, it's okay. You can turn around now." She does and he's fully clothed and masked and she's a bit disappointed but she's not about to let him know. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this..." She'd like to believe there's a hint of embarrassment in there somewhere but all she hears is regret and it makes her kind of sad.

 

"Kakashi-sensei...Why did you...?" She can't bring herself to really ask but she needs to know that if she blinks this won't ever happen again. She needs to know she won't ever have to see him like that. She can't have her sensei lying around looking fragile like that...He's Kakashi-sensei...

 

He doesn't answer and the question hangs in the tense air, it smells like blood and shame. She hopes it's just him. She didn't bleed but there's an awful lot she's ashamed of. "Sakura, come here." He pats the bed, using that stern tone she's never really liked, but it hits close to familiarity and she's too glad to be bothered but it's still a little scary. Her feet don't move until she's aware that she's stuck and she has to force herself to approach him and sit on the bed. "This stays between us, okay? We can't have Naruto and the others worrying over a dumb mistake, now can we?" It takes some adjustment to hearing him talk without seeing his lips move but this is the norm and she should be glad. When she doesn't answer, his hand moves to take hold of hers, she flinches and he draws back, looking almost hurt. Then again, there's only one eye left for show. "Sakura...I'm okay, really. Everything. Is. Okay." He dances carefully with heavy footing on his words like he's speaking to a child. She's almost offended.

 

"How naive do you take me for?! If you don't tell me what's going on I'll have to see Lady Tsunade about this, Kakashi-sensei!" It's too late to take the words back when she realises her mistake, the sharingan is out and she stands ready to release whatever genjutsu he'll surely put her under (as if she could really rival him.)

 

"I'm so so sorry, Sakura." He says though she doubts there's any substance or meaning to it. She thinks she's starting to hate mantras... And she blinks... 

 

 

Sakura blinks her jitters away and has her balled up fist ready to knock at his door, but takes a step back and decides he's really not worth her time. _Probably slept in after a mission or something..._

 

(If he doesn't give her the time of day, why should she?)

**Author's Note:**

> Okay hii! This is my first non-wattpad work so take it easy because I'm legit just a bored 15 year old baby who's too used to being lax on wattpad so yeah! Hopefully this is nice and clean! I love Sakura with the entirety of my existence and I love Kakashi and I love Arctic Monkeys so this is a brilliant combination right?!
> 
> This is a one-shot for now but I might do more with it in the near future... No seriously I have 2 whole freaking months to chill and take it easy so if people like this then why the heck not?! Leave feedback! I'm seriously looking to grow and improve my writing! Thanks!


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